Curry & Co. adds industry veteran as director of sales and business development for berries

April 29, 2013

Bruce Turner, a produce industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in shipping, packing, marketing and retail, has joined Curry & Co. as director of sales and business development for berries.

Mr. Turner most recently worked in marketing at Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers. Prior to that, he was director of operations at Giumarra VBM International Berry in Wenatchee, WA.Bruce Turner

Other positions that Mr. Turner has held include senior director of business development and sales at Associated Grocers in Seattle; and while at The Oppenheimer Group, he helped oversee the growth of New Zealand apple and kiwifruit imports into the United States.

Mr. Turner's responsibilities with Curry & Co. include both domestic and import berries. He will help grow Curry & Company's domestic blueberry program, which currently includes blueberries and blackberries from California, Oregon and Washington. Curry's import program features blueberries from Argentina and Chile, with plans to expand to Mexico as well.

"I have a real passion for all things berries," Mr. Turner said in a press release. "It is an exciting time for blueberries and other berries as the category continues to grow at retail. I love working with growers domestically and internationally; working together to provide consumers with a wonderful eating experience."

"I've known Bruce for a long time and we're thrilled to have him as a key member of the Curry & Company team," Matt Curry, president of the Brooks, OR-based Curry & Co., said in the press release. "It's rare to find someone that has had experience and success in virtually all aspects of this business. And for a 25-year plus industry veteran, I find his enthusiasm is still contagious."

Mr. Turner studied agricultural business management at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and is fluent in Spanish. He is based in Wenatchee, WA, where he resides with his wife and two children.